Oh dear, it’s magpie nesting season again…

A few years ago I realised that the magpies were a major deterrent to BVRT tourism during the nesting season, so I set about researching a fix.

Let’s be real, a magpie is a medium sized bird, it can peck you and it can scratch you with surprising accuracy (I’ve even been scratched through a helmet vent), but they can’t physically knock you off your bike. What they can do is cause the cyclist to swerve or wobble with a surprise attack from the side, resulting in serious injuries if the cyclist falls off.

So best to find a way to deter them from making contact. I’ve experimented with all the known methods. We eventually came up with a solution that is 100% effective. It doesn’t stop them swooping, but it deters then from making contact and even if they do make contact, they can’t hurt you.

But first the methods I tried during my research:

Flashing light – doesn’t work.

Eye stickers – The maggies just laugh at you.

Feeding them – They take the food and then they still swoop you, the ungrates. 

Zipties – can be effective, but they must be long and placed strategically so they protect your ears and neck. Also, they make you look like a roving Wi-Fi antenna and make a whistling noise at anything over 30 kph.

Waving your arm over your head in a sweeping motion with the forearm bent at the elbow. It works, but they will usually get at least one strike in before you start responding, and you have to ride with only one hand on the handlebars. Not ideal.

Small branches attached to your helmet – sort of works, but awkward to attach effectively

During a conversation about the problem with my very good mate, BVRT Ranger, Peter Kleis, he asked me, “Have you tried bird scarer tape?”.

I didn’t even know there was such a thing, but a quick visit to my local Mitre 10 hardware store in Fernvale and for $4.00 I was equipped with a 30 metre x 30 mm roll of holographic bird scarer tape that has lasted for ages.

I experimented with different lengths – too short and there isn’t enough of a tail to scare a pigeon, too long and it wraps around your head, which can be very irritating on a windy day.

I usually cut an 80 cm strip, then thread it through a ziptie stretched vertically between two vents high at the back of my helmet, so there are two 40 cm tails. Just perfect, but magpies are very smart birds. There was just one who figured it out and was undeterred.

It was serendipity really; I acquired a Da Brim helmet brim for sun protection and soon realised that it served a dual purpose. If the magpies are undeterred by the tape, they can’t make contact with any exposed parts of my head, especially the ears.

However, I have found that the tape on its own is usually a sufficient deterrent. They still swoop and carry on like a pork chop, but they don’t make contact.

I should also mention that there is now a Pie proof helmet on the market that was recently featured on the Bicycle Queensland Facebook page. I haven’t tried it yet. It certainly looks like it will protect you, but there is nothing to deter the maggies from making contact. Easy solution, just add a length of bird scarer tape.

The proof of the pudding as they say is in the eating – check out the videos I made during my research:

https://vimeo.com/showcase/11008386?share=copy

The bird scarer tape is so effective that Somerset Council now gives it away for free in their Visitor Information Centres in Fernvale, Esk and Toogoolawah.

Magpies are only being good parents by protecting their young. A few protective measures and we can happily co-exist.

Ride on. Ride safe. Enjoy the BVRT wildlife.